ForbesStratospheric "space" balloons are expected to revolutionize the current satellite industry via an innovative cocktail of low-cost, rapid deployability, and "persistent" geospatial coverage. And all in a way that will enable an ever-growing list of new applications. Or so says World View, an Arizona-based newspace company that is aiming to park what it terms "stratollites" — balloon-borne stratospheric satellites at the edge of Earth's atmosphere for mission lengths of days, weeks, even months at a time.
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Point of BeginningOn the heels of the recent announcement by the Federal Aviation Administration releasing its final Part 107 regulations governing small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, MAPPS, the association of private sector surveying mapping and geospatial firms, has confirmed that Randy Willis, manager of the Federal Aviation Administration Emerging Technologies Team with oversight of Unmanned Aircraft will be a speaker at the MAPPS Summer Conference. READ MORE

Smart Grid NewsThe global battery energy storage market for smart grid is expected to grow immensely in the next four years at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 73 percent, according to a study from Technavio.
The research report, entitled "Global Battery Energy Storage Market for Smart Grid 2016-2020," analyzed the market revenue and emerging trends, categorizing battery storage by three types: Li-ion batteries, lead-acid batteries and sodium sulfur batteries.
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GPS WorldThe United States Coast Guard, Department of Transportation and Army Corps of Engineers have issued a notice that reduces the number of Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System sites that will be decommissioned.
The agencies published a notice on Aug. 18 seeking public comments on the proposed shutdown and decommissioning of 62 the then-existing 84 NDGPS sites.
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Sensors & SystemsA team of scientists from the University of Maryland and Sigma Space Corporation has shown that 3-D forest structure and topography can be measured rapidly, efficiently and accurately over large areas, using an innovative laser technology called single photon lidar.
The study, funded by NASA and published in the Nature journal, Scientific Reports, evaluates the first large-scale deployment of a single photon lidar instrument over the entirety of Garrett County (1700 sq. km) in Maryland.
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ExecutiveGovThe National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will provide geospatial and damage assessment services to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for first responders to use in areas affected by floods across West Virginia.
NGA said that it will supply geospatial data with highlights on severely-flooded areas to help first responders navigate waters and support faster response times to affected residents.
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EngadgetDJI's Geospatial Environment Online software already kept pilots from flying its drones in "sensitive areas" and now the setup is getting a lot more useful. The UAV maker is making improvements to the system inside of its Go app that's used to control Phantom and Inspire drones. By doing so, DJI gives pilots easy access to its geofencing system that keeps airports, prisons and power plants permanently locked down in addition to temporary restrictions around special events like stadiums and "national security events."
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Space NewsSI Imaging Services of South Korea said it had begun commercial sales of imagery from its Kompsat-3A optical Earth observation satellite, making Korea the second nation, after the United States, to put 50-centimeter-class pictures on the open market.
In a statement, SIIS said Kompsat-3A, launched in March 2015, offers imagery with a ground sampling distance of less than 50 centimeters, making it the sharpest imagery available commercially with the exception of DigitalGlobe of the United States.
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